Education reformers have made great progress in North Carolina in recent years. They still have plenty of work to do to improve traditional public schools and to expand opportunities for parental school choice. Terry Stoops, the John Locke Foundation’s director of research and education studies, outlines key education recommendations from the latest version of JLF’s Agenda document. Free trade has taken a beating during the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton all took aim at agreements designed to remove trade barriers between the United States and foreign countries. That’s bad news to Scott Linciome, international trade attorney, visiting lecturer at Duke University, and adjunct scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute. During the recent celebration of Milton Friedman Legacy of Freedom Day, Lincicome touted the benefits of trade and explained why the presidential candidates are wrong to attack trade. Lincicome shared highlights of his presentation in an interview for Carolina Journal Radio. The N.C. General Assembly might consider tweaking its formula for funding the state’s community colleges. You’ll hear highlights from a recent presentation on the topic from the legislature’s Program Evaluation Division, along with reaction from state community college leaders and lawmakers. North Carolina has adopted laws specifically targeting gang activity, but it’s not clear those laws have done much to fight gang activity. During a recent legislative meeting, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman and Chuck Hastings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department outlined key challenges related to current anti-gang laws. They also explained why data linked to anti-gang prosecutions fail to tell the full story. Wake County government is asking voters to consider raising the local sales tax by 0.5 percent to help fund a $2.3 billion county transit plan. Key elements of the plan involve a new commuter rail line and adoption of new Bus Rapid Transit. Julie Tisdale, JLF’s city and county policy analyst, explains why taxpayers should be wary of funding an “underutilized, inconvenient, and expensive” local transit plan.